


Suburbs and Adultery

by Grimesus



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2018-10-05 21:12:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10317071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grimesus/pseuds/Grimesus
Summary: Rick Grimes is a good, decent man. He's got a wife, a kid, and a plan. Things start to fall apart, but moving to a new suburb seems to mute each problem until the new neighbor moves in across the street.





	1. Chapter 1

He's got a good life.

The man was simply a role model for all fathers out there, and would travel oceans for his wife, Lori. He'd do just about anything for his son, Carl. And he'd do everything in his power to make sure his family is protected. Rick Grimes was the perfect picture of what a father should be for a family in the deep Georgia south; the breadwinner, the protector, the provider, and a man of faith. They were a family who went to church on Sunday, and one that hosted a neighborhood barbecue every few weekends during the summertime. When the snow would fall in the winter, though rare, he'd suit up Carl and himself to help shovel the elderly's homes around their neighborhood. He was a good man.

Rick had a beautiful wife, too. Lori Grimes was a woman of love, and the mother of his child. He knew it was a good woman when his best friend, Shane, had approved of her. She'd first fell in love with Rick nearly twenty years ago at a party when she'd admittedly had a little too much to drink and found herself talking to him. Rick had been sober, not having anything to drink but that damn water bottle he was carrying around when she'd walked over with a red cup in her hand and whatever forbidden hairstyle she'd had back then. Rick just wouldn't stop talking about how much he loved Lori until the day they got married; and even the days after, he still brings it up often. How the hell could a man love so much? He felt exhausted, but she gave him all his energy. It was a good mix.

They were married by 23, and he was well on his way to becoming a police officer with his best friend. It first started with them living with Lori's parents for a few months until Rick got a good enough pay to afford a small apartment. It was a dingy, old, run-down place that made both Rick and Lori wince at how they could have lived there. But at the time, it was good enough for them. Lori, numerous times, offered to get a job and start saving money so they could afford to move but Rick insisted that she not get a job.

Time moves on and they're 26, and Rick's been promoted to their town's department. Rick and Lori both celebrate over a big bottle of wine and start talking about children. God, children. Rick isn't fond of the idea at first, but Lori is so damn adamant about it that he caves. He lets her know that he's ready to start a family, and the process of getting to step one was a process in itself. Months pass and after a whole CVS-worth of pregnancy tests go into the trash, Lori finally gets a positive followed by another, and another.

She's pregnant.

Jubilant, they celebrate and begin planning for the next 9 months. Rick's got big plans and he isn't staying another minute in the old apartment longer than he has to; besides, it's only got one bedroom and they need a nursery.

He buys the house.

Every time Lori and him drove by it there was something she pointed out about it. The freshly stained wooden deck, or the finely chiseled quartz columns on the porch. The bright blue exterior, or the rough bricks that laid the foundation. When Rick bought the house, he'd surprised her by taking her to it. She was nearly 3 months pregnant and she's jumping up and down when she finds herself in the driveway of the house. It's so beautiful, she thought. _Rick, are you sure we can afford it? If we need to I'll get a job — I swear! We can take a bigger mortgage or finance it a different way..._

She begged him like he hadn't already bought the house. About 5 months later, Carl's born and they're even happier.

Rick settles into the father role quite well. He's a great father, great police officer, and has a best friend that is right at his side with work and life. Through the nights where he wished that he'd gotten more sleep, to making sure he was well-fed, bathing him in the extravagant new tub they had in the master bedroom, and to the first day of kindergarten when Rick and Lori help Carl onto the school bus, he feels like he's a good father. He wakes up in the morning, has breakfast with his family, goes to work, goes home and has a dinner with his family, and goes to bed. He's an adult and he knows that he's got a good life.

Time flies yet again and Carl's in the third grade. Lori can't take being at home anymore, and she applies for a job at the school's office and lands the secretary job. It's not for income, but for the sake of getting out of the house. Rick doesn't object and figures that it's good for Lori to get out and about. Things begin to take a strain at home and he starts to wish that Lori didn't have that job but it's not for him to say. Carl's started soccer, and they become the parents of a kid that plays sports. Everyday practices, weekend games, and all the joys that come with it.

He gets promoted again, to Sheriff's Deputy and the demands from his job begin to increase. He's home less, sometimes misses dinner, and is sometimes up and driving to work before Lori has a chance to even hit her first alarm on their clock. He's making more money for sure, and Lori's income is a nice addition to the checkbook. But things become tense at home. Rick's starting to come home later and Lori is staying up just to see him so she could talk to him.

 _Why are you always getting home late? Rick? We never spend any time anymore. You never speak to me anymore. How are we supposed to do this?_ He heard it all too much as of late, and that's when he starts talking back. _You know I work late, Lori. How am I supposed to provide for the family if I'm home more often? You're happy, aren't you? Things are just fine!_ And then Lori would start to cry; she feels so distant and broken. So alone. Fights begin to escalate to shouting, and even screaming. Carl's at the top of the staircase, eavesdropping and listening to the destruction of his parent's marriage.

_Rick, why don't we get a divorce?_

She's the first to mention it and it takes his breath away. His first word is NO, because they're not there yet. Not yet. Rick begins to fight for a solution because god damn, he needed to fix his family.

He buys another goddamn house.

At first, Lori's reaction is pure anger. They were still paying off their current one, and had to save for Carl's future. Rick says that they've got a good thing going with both jobs, and can afford it. He's sure of it. So, they move. Lori quits her job at the elementary school and Rick gets transferred to another department. The suburb is just outside of Atlanta and he feels like he can give his family a better life here. Carl's got a better school, a better neighborhood, and the opportunity to play his favorite sport, soccer, for a bigger school.

Lori breaks and thinks this will be a good thing for their marriage. Just maybe. It's a newly built neighborhood, and there's empty houses being filled daily. She wonders how the hell Rick found this place but goes with the flow. She swallows every worry and just goes with it. Everything gets moved into their new house and she starts working for the school department in that suburb as well, too. Life, and their marriage, seems to start picking back up again. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

It's a Sunday afternoon, and church was pretty busy. Rick's got a suit on, Lori her white dress with matching sandals and Carl's got a dress shirt. It's July and the air conditioning in the car doesn't even do squat anymore. Lori's fanning herself as Rick drives into their neighborhood, and Carl's half asleep because he had a game the night before and was up early for church. Rick eyes the road and sees a moving truck drive by. Lori glances back, confused.

"Someone moving in again?" Lori sits back, adjusting into her seat. "That's the fifth one this month."

Rick stays quiet, turning onto their street. He glances to Carl in the rear-view mirror and looks back at the road. "Popular place." Of course it was, this place was a great neighborhood. He couldn't ask for anything better. The new house was better than the old one and he thinks of the old, dingy apartment. Anything was better than that place.

"Carl, did you make sure to get your math homework done like I asked you last night?" Lori asks, and Rick slows to pull up to their driveway. Rick can hear a mumble from Carl, but he's more focused on the stacks of boxes in the driveway diagonal to theirs. Two women picking them up, moving them closer to the front door. Lori's eyes fixate on the two women. "Oh," Lori has a small smile. "New neighbors."

Rick pulls into the driveway and stops the car in the garage. "It's been a while since we've had that." Rick says sarcastically, and Lori looks over with an eye roll and a smile.

"Funny," she says before opening the car door where she feels the humidity in the air begin to cover her skin. Goddamn, Georgia.

Carl gets out and doesn't even hesitate to go inside. Rick and Lori both look at the two women across the street. Any husband? Boyfriend? It's almost as if Lori reads Rick's mind, and she shrugs her shoulders before looking at her husband. "Lesbians?"

Rick shrugs, no evidence to rule out that accusation before walking to the door to go inside. Lori follows, and starts to think of ways to welcome them to the neighborhood. How the hell was she supposed to do so? Bake a pie? So unoriginal, Lori! She sets her purse on the counter, and Rick tosses the keys to the little dish on the same counter. Sunday afternoons were relatively just a relaxing day for the family, unless Rick had to work. But today? Just another relaxing day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story took a hiatus for a while... but I'm gonna continue it. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!

It's later that Sunday afternoon, and Lori is in the kitchen baking a famous Georgian original:  _Peach Cobbler._

It's for the neighbors next door that'd just moved in, and she figured it'd be the good to be neighborly. She wants to make them feel welcome in the community, and knows how hard it is to move — especially if you're a pair of lesbians. Lori had been pretty democratic with her views, she thought to herself; unlike the majority of the people that attended her church. She pulls the cobbler out of the oven, with it bubbling and sizzling. Did she mention she wasn't the best cook?

Rick's in the other room watching ESPN, flipping back and forth between the Discovery Channel when there's commercials on. The air conditioner is going full blast, especially with Lori cooking in the kitchen. Rick already knows that he'll be calling for a pizza delivery later that evening, even if it was Sunday night. Sunday night meant a good meal; usually some sort of meat, such as chicken or steaks. A good vegetable, like asparagus, potatoes, or carrots with string beans. Lori had always done her best to make a good dessert, whether it turned out good or not. Rick hears the grunting and mumblings she does whilst making the cobbler and knows that this is the maximum amount of cooking she's doing today.

She places the dish on the counter to let it cool, figuring it should be somewhat cold by the time she brings it over for the neighbors. Rick walks into the kitchen, and Lori turns to face him. He pecks a kiss on her lips, before smiling. "And when do I get a plate of this?" Rick asks, grabbing a plate from the cupboard above the countertops. 

Lori swats his hand, scowling. "Never, because it's not for you!" She rips off a paper towel to drape over the cobbler. "It's way too hot right now, anyways." A small chuckle slips through her teeth.

Rick hesitantly puts the plate back, and leans against the counter. "What's a guy gotta do for some peach cobbler around here?" He asks with a puppy-like look on his face, and Lori presses her body against him.

"Slave over a stove for a few hours, boil some peaches and make a damn crumble," she places a kiss onto him. 

Studying her tone, Rick comes to a conclusion. "So dinner isn't happening tonight? Pepperoni or veggie?"

"Veggie," Lori says as she backs off and walks to the sink, turning cool water on. "And if Carl doesn't like it then he can have the leftover veggies in the fridge."

Rick gets out the delivery menu, setting it onto the counter for later. He walks over to the window that looks out front, trying to look for any signs of moving in across the street. One of the two vehicles gone, and all of the boxes that were in the driveway this morning gone. "Looks like they finished moving in across the street." 

"Yeah, they finished about an hour ago." Lori says, waiting until hot water begins to fall from the faucet to do her dishes. "I wonder if they have kids. Carl could use a few more friends in this neighborhood."

Rick shrugs. "Who knows. You seriously think they're lesbians?"

Lori glances over her shoulder. "Short-haired girl, and a blonde?" Lori scoffs a little. "Please."

Rick raises an eyebrow and looks over to her. "Don't go and assume, I can see the scene unfolding right now."

"What scene would that be?" Lori raises wet arms out of the sink, suds coating her skin. 

A laugh erupts from Rick, grinning like the goddamn Cheshire Cat. "You pairing them as lesbians, and you getting some awkward stares. C'mon, Lori,"

"Okay, okay. I'll play it safe." She surrenders and goes back to her dishes.

Rick opens the menu for takeout, looking over at all the selections available. Lori scrubs dishes, getting peach residue off and batter to slide off. At least  _this_ was something she was good at.

 

Lori puts on the same nice skirt she'd worn earlier that day, making sure her hair didn't have any flour or any other baking supplies in it. Rick's wearing a plaid button down, jeans and some old Nikes. Carl's got a friend's mother coming to pick him up on their way home from baseball practice so he can go over and play some video games. Lori knew she had to pick him up as soon as possible, with it being a school night. She'd permitted it, but only because he'd been working extra hard in his sports. Before picking up the cobbler, Lori turns to Rick and gives him a nod. Rick gives a smile back, and she leads them out the door.

Steps up onto the front door, which in her taste is bare but— _remember, Lori! This is only her first day. And besides, didn't lesbians have some sort of pizazz? Oh wait, that was the gays..._

As Lori holds the cobbler, Rick knocks on the front door with three distinct knocks. Seconds later, the blonde haired woman answered with a look of surprise. And before she could even open her mouth—

"Welcome to the neighborhood!" Lori chimes with a big smile, Rick behind her with a smile.  The blonde haired woman in front of them takes a glance at the dish, and her mouth forms to an 'O'.

"Oh my gosh," she says with astonishment. 

Lori grins. "This is my husband, Rick. My name is Lori. We're your new neighbors from across the way." Her head bobs toward the general direction of their house.

Their new neighbor grins and looks at Lori with a look of warmth. Lori looks her up and down, eyeing her khakis and blue dress shirt. It was a plain outfit, but would Lori wear it? Absolutely not. Lori doesn't judge out loud, of course, and Rick stands there unsure of what to say from here on out.

"I'm Andrea, it's great to know that I've got great neighbors here," she says as she takes the cobbler from Lori's hands. She steps aside, smile plastered across her face. "Please, come in!"

Lori and Rick file in, and hear the door close behind them. They follow Andrea as she walks them to the kitchen, and Lori is eyeing the entire house. The layout is similar to their own, and today was really the first day she was moving in. Boxes scatter the hardwood floors, living room carpets, and the dining room table is flooded with boxes and other trinkets. 

"Sorry about the mess, I just started moving in this morning," Andrea says as she enters the kitchen, large and spaced out. She sets the cobbler onto the island in the center, before opening a drawer. "All the silverware and dishes are unpacked. Please, have a seat," she nods to the chairs at the bar.

Lori is the first to sit, followed by Rick. "I can already tell you're going to make this a beautiful home," Lori says with a smile as she watches Andrea open the cupboard, grabbing three plates. "Let me know if I can help you with anything here."

"Please, you've already made a cobbler before I could stop by and say hello," Andrea chuckles softly as Rick looks around.

"Any kids?" He asks, wondering if Carl could make another friend. The boy had a never ending schedule it seemed, but Rick and Lori thought it was best to keep it that way; it kept Carl out of trouble, and taught him how to be more mature. "We've got a son who goes to the school in the area."

Lori takes a second, looking at the marble countertop to do the math; could lesbians have children?  _No,_ she snaps back to reality before looking up and sitting up because with her theory, she already knows the answer.

"Oh, no," Andrea says with a small laugh. "It's not in the cards for me, I'm sure."

Lori sits up a bit more and smiles as Andrea scoops some of the cobbler onto plates. "And who is the girl who helped you move in today? Partner?"

Andrea stops, frozen as her brain analyzes the words before turning around. "Oh, uh, no, that's my good friend from high school. I'm from Florida, but she'd moved up here with her high school sweetheart."  _I'm also into men, you freak. Personal much?_

Rick sits back, shooting Lori a glare. Lori shrugs, looking back to see Andrea scoop out the last plate of cobbler. 

"This smells absolutely delicious." Andrea says, stomach growling at the scent of peaches; it'd been a long day of unloading boxes, it was good to be able to have a plate of food. She'd already picked up a local chinese menu. She then places the plates in front of the couple, and stabs a fork into a peach on her plate.

"Her cobbler is delicious," Rick says as he picks up the fork on the plate and stabs a peach himself, before Lori can smile and take a bite herself.

Andrea moans slightly, analyzing the flavor and licking her lips. "Oh god, Lori, this _**is**_ delicious,"

"Thanks, family recipe," she says before taking another bite. "Any chance, could I have a glass of water?" 

Andrea frowns slightly, glancing back to her kitchen sink. "For some reason, the water isn't working. I called the water company earlier today to ask if I was connected, and they told me I was but — I think it's something to do with the pipes." She was off to a great start with hospitality. "I haven't had a chance to run to the store to get bottled water. Substitute for a glass of wine?"

"Oh, no, that's alright." Lori quickly stands before Rick looks up. "I'll go get a bottle from our house, would you want some for the night? And Rick could take a look at your pipes, he's been watching ESPN all day and I think he needs the break."

"That'd be great," Andrea says as Rick swallows his cobbler, and stands up. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I can go if you want—" Rick says as he looks at Lori, already walking down the hallway.

"No, you've been looking forward to that cobbler all day. I'll be fine." Lori states as she walks out of the house, before the door slams on the way out. 

There's a brief silence between the two, Andrea's fork scraping the plate before Rick breaks the silence.

"So," he asks, fork breaking into the dessert. "What do you do for work?"

Andrea chews her food, before swallowing. "I'm a civil rights lawyer." She says as she takes a seat in the barstool, getting a bit more comfortable. "And you?"

Rick uses his fork to slide the cobbler around, playing with it. "I'm the sheriff's deputy of this town."

"Oh." Andrea says with a nod. "Any bad crime around here?"

"Not too much," Rick says as he thinks it over a bit. The past few months at work had really been slow, as the suburb really didn't produce much crime. Most calls he got were to respond to something outside of the town's lines. It was a bigger town than the last town he oversaw, but the crime? Not much had changed at all in terms of that. "Biggest was a robbery over on the other side of town, store closed and the owner was stabbed on his way out of the store to his car."

Andrea's eyes widened, but in all honesty, she wasn't too shocked. Florida had and has been a cesspool of crime and horrors. Hell, she had defended quite a bit of people in Florida. It was a warped place, but then again, everywhere in the United States had been the same. She looked at is as  _job security_. "In Florida, that seems to happen every day. Not  _literally_ but, you get the point."

"Florida? Is that where you're from?" Rick asks, setting his fork down onto his plate. Her tanned skin did seem like she'd be from Florida.

Andrea gives a nod. "I was raised in Florida, but I went to Atlanta for school and just liked it so much that I figured this would be a great place to move to." She breathes out, thinking of her family. She had missed them, of course, but this was a fresh start for her. "What about you?"

"Georgia, born and raised. We just moved here not too long ago actually." Rick says as he looks to the hall, making sure that there's no sign of Lori around. "Lori and I... things were getting rough, and we needed a new start. Figured this would be the best way, you know?"

Shocked by his openness and honesty, Andrea follows him and nods when he tries to find the reasoning. She had known all too well about bad relationships, and had her fair share. College and law school had a few ups and downs in the relationship department, but now? Well, she had given more attention to her vibrator than she had at entertaining the idea of dating and mingling. 

"That's sweet. I hope things have been better since." Andrea says, taking another bite of the cobbler. 

Another brief silence, because in all honesty, he's not sure if they're doing better. There's still nights where Rick will touch her, and she rolls onto the other side of their bed. Times where he'll confess his love, and she will change the subject or leave the conversation altogether. It's not as visible to Carl anymore, but it happens behind the scenes. Rick tries so hard, holding in anger and being the bigger person but it is no use. 

"Your faucet," Rick says before standing up. "Want me to take a look at it?"

Andrea's eyes follow the man. "Oh, you don't have to, I was gonna call the plumber in the morning—"

"I'd be happy to." Rick says as he offers a warm smile. "Do you have any wrenches? Tools in general?"

Andrea gets up from her seat, walking over to a pile of boxes in the dining room. She opens a few, looking at the letterings on the sides of the cardboard and eventually begins to dig in one. As she does, Rick feels his phone vibrate and light up. He digs it from his pocket before reading a text from Lori:  _Shannon couldn't bring Carl home, I'm on my way to pick him up. Stopping to make a few errands on my way home._ Rick sends back a thumbs up, and watches as Andrea brings back a tool kit. 

"I think this will do. I'm not exactly experienced with pipes, but..." Andrea opens the kit on the counter and allows Rick to step in. "I've got a flashlight I can hold for you, too, somewhere..."

Rick picks at the wrenches, before walking to the kitchen sink and opening the lower cupboard. The water had been dripping, and the wood had been damp. He stands back up, before Andrea walks over with the flashlight she'd found in the same box. 

Rick overlooks the wrenches before grabbing one, and walking over to the cupboard. "You've got a leaky one. It's probably not tightened all the way..." Rick says, getting on his hands and knees with Andrea turning on the flashlight to shine a light on the darkened space. 

He takes the wrench, putting the grip of it onto the pipe and twisting. She watches as he gets in there and solves the issue and nods as he does so. "That makes sense," Andrea whispers to herself as he twists the pipe tighter. He finishes, and she holds out her hand to help him up off the ground.  _They weren't twenty-something_ _anymore._ Andrea smiles at him, flicking the light off, hand still wrapped around his as he becomes level with her, and above her as he stands up tall. 

"Try it," he whispers to her as he holds onto her hand. He hasn't let go. She hasn't let go. They're staring into each others eyes, and the moment completely stops for a second. The house is quiet, nothing turned on or playing in the background. Ceiling fan above them spinning around and around, and Rick inhales to smell her perfume. She stares into his blue eyes, getting lost for a second. She's the one to snap out of it first and lean past him, turning on the water before seeing the liquid pour from the faucet. She smiles, looking back to him with a laugh.

"A plumber has been born!" She says as she turns the faucet back, shutting off the water. He stands there and gives her a nod, before she looks back and smiles. "Rick, thank you, really," she says as she looks around for something,  _anything,_ she can offer him in exchange. This man she had just met nearly twenty minutes ago had fixed her faucet for free, and looked damn good while doing it. "Do you... want a glass of wine? I was gonna order some Chinese and look over some case files, but I'd love it if you would stay."

Rick halts, and thinks for a second. Lori was picking up Carl, and probably stopping at the grocery store on the way home or something along the lines of that. He could go back to his house and order the pizza that Lori had discussed and it'd be delivered by the time she got home. That's what a  _good father_ would do for his family. In fact, he could start getting the dishes done for that night and maybe even throw a load of laundry in so Carl would have a clean uniform for Tuesday's game. That's what he should do. It's what he would do. Lori would thank him that night before getting into bed before rolling over and falling asleep, leaving him awake and restless because it's been months since they had shared their passion.

Or he could stay over and have that glass of wine.

A nice glass of wine to go with Chinese food and the continuation of their pleasant conversation. He probably wouldn't get home until an hour or so later, Lori would probably have ordered the pizza and ate without him, probably done the dishes, possibly done that load of laundry. Things would continue. So he does the stupid decision that he knows will create problems. 

But she knows he's married. She shouldn't even be offering this to him without offering the same to Lori, however to be fair, within the few minutes she was in her new home she had assumed that she was a lesbian and left abruptly. Rick, on the other hand, had stood out with a contrast. Still, she knows it's wrong for her to make the invite exclusive.

"Sure, an egg roll and a glass of wine sounds pretty good." Rick breathes as Andrea smiles back at him, before she moves past him to get the menu for the Chinese food restaurant she had gotten at a local gas station before moving in. 

Rick was in trouble this time. Though nothing bad had happened yet, he knew all to well that this would be a negative effect on his marriage. Andrea, in comparison to Lori, was a threat in Lori's eyes. Though Lori wasn't the jealous type, he knew how she was and how he'd pay. But what did he have to lose? Sex? That was nonexistent in their marriage already, and they already had strained love. So what else could this possibly do? He's got a lot to tell Shane tomorrow at work, for sure.  _Just get through tonight without getting blue balls, Rick, and you'll be home free. Shane will know what to say._


End file.
